Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Hoy estoy cansado, pero igual estudio español. - Today I am tired, but I still study Spanish.

Estoy cansado = I am tired right now / today (temporary condition).
Soy cansado would sound like “I am a tiring person / I tend to get tired easily,” a more permanent trait, and is rarely what you want.

Since being tired here is clearly a temporary, current state (“today I’m tired”), estar is the correct verb.

Why does cansado end in -o? What if the speaker is a woman?

Cansado agrees in gender and number with the subject, which is yo (I).

A man would say: estoy cansado.
A woman would say: estoy cansada.
Several men / a mixed group: estamos cansados.
Several women only: estamos cansadas.

So the -o in cansado tells you the speaker is male (or grammatically masculine).

Why is the pronoun yo missing? Shouldn’t it be yo estoy cansado?

Spanish usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Estoy cansado clearly means I am tired, because estoy can only be yo (I).
You can say yo estoy cansado, but adding yo normally gives emphasis or contrast:
- Yo estoy cansado, pero tú no. = I am tired, but you are not.

In neutral, everyday speech, yo is often omitted.

Why is the verb estudio in simple present and not estoy estudiando?

Spanish uses the simple present (estudio) more broadly than English uses I study:

Estudio español can mean:
- I study Spanish as a habit / regularly.
- I am studying Spanish these days (a current ongoing activity).

Using estoy estudiando español focuses more on the action right now or around this moment.

In the sentence Hoy estoy cansado, pero igual estudio español, the idea is more like:
“I’m tired today, but I still (nevertheless) do my usual Spanish study.”
So estudio (simple present) fits well.

What does igual mean here? It doesn’t look like “equal.”

In Latin American Spanish, igual has a very common colloquial meaning close to:

anyway
still
even so / nevertheless

So:

Hoy estoy cansado, pero igual estudio español.
≈ “Today I’m tired, but I’m still studying Spanish anyway.”

It does not mean “equal” in this context; it’s functioning as an adverbial connector expressing contrast and persistence.

Can I move igual or does it have to be pero igual estudio español?

You have some flexibility, but the most natural positions (in many parts of Latin America) are:

Hoy estoy cansado, pero igual estudio español.
Hoy estoy cansado, pero estudio español igual.

Both can work. Subtle tendencies:

Pero igual estudio español: often sounds a bit more natural; igual comes early, marking the contrast right away.
Pero estudio español igual: also understandable and used; igual feels a bit more like an afterthought (“…I study Spanish, anyway”).

You would not usually say Hoy estoy cansado, igual pero estudio español; the typical contrast connector is pero igual, in that order.

What is the difference between pero igual and aunque here?

Both show contrast, but they feel slightly different:

Aunque estoy cansado, estudio español.
- More formal / neutral.
- Literally “Although I am tired, I study Spanish.”
Hoy estoy cansado, pero igual estudio español.
- More colloquial, very typical in Latin America.
- “I’m tired today, but I still study Spanish anyway.”

Aunque introduces the conceded fact directly (although X, Y happens).
Pero igual feels like: “X is true, but even so / anyway, Y.” It’s more conversational.

Could I say pero todavía estudio español instead of pero igual estudio español?

You can, but the nuance changes:

Todavía usually means still / yet in a temporal sense:
- Todavía estudio español. = I still study Spanish (I haven’t stopped yet).
Igual here means anyway / even so, emphasizing contrast, not time:
- I’m tired, but in spite of that, I study.

If you say Hoy estoy cansado, pero todavía estudio español, it can sound more like “I’m tired today, but I still (haven’t stopped) studying Spanish,” which is understandable but slightly less natural for this specific idea in many dialects.
Pero igual is the more idiomatic choice for “but I’m studying anyway.”

Why is it estudio español and not estudio el español?

With school subjects and languages, Spanish often omits the article when they are direct objects:

Estudio español / historia / matemáticas.
Aprendo inglés.

You can use el español when you talk about the language more abstractly or as a topic:

El español es un idioma muy hablado.
El español tiene muchos dialectos.

In estudio español, we’re talking about the activity of studying the language, so no article is needed and estudio español is the natural form.

Why is español not capitalized like Spanish in English?

In Spanish:

Names of languages are written with a lowercase first letter:
- español, inglés, francés, alemán, japonés
Names of nationalities are also lowercase:
- español, inglés, francés, alemán

So you write estudio español, not estudio Español.
This is just a spelling convention of Spanish, different from English.

Do you always need a comma before pero, like the comma after cansado here?

Yes, in this sentence a comma before pero is correct and standard:

Hoy estoy cansado, pero igual estudio español.

In Spanish, pero usually introduces a contrasting clause, and you normally separate that with a comma, similar to English “but”:

Quiero salir, pero está lloviendo.
Trabajo mucho, pero gano poco.

So the comma is expected here.

Can I move hoy to another position, like Estoy cansado hoy, pero igual estudio español?

Yes, hoy (today) is flexible. Some natural options:

Hoy estoy cansado, pero igual estudio español.
Estoy cansado hoy, pero igual estudio español.
Estoy cansado, pero hoy igual estudio español.

Nuances:

Hoy estoy cansado…: Focuses on today right away.
Estoy cansado hoy…: Focus on being tired, then add today.
…pero hoy igual estudio español: Emphasizes that today, despite everything, you still study.

All are correct; the original version is very typical and neutral.